Trigon Metals, a Kombat ores company, has laid off employees as the mine closes due to flooding from an underground water pump failure.

The 533 employees of the mine are distressed, citing that the failure of the water pump happened on 16 January and that the retrenchment was thus short notice.

Former and current members of the Mine Workers Union demand to benefit from the trust they played a part in creating in 1997.

The Trust, according to the Association of Mine Workers Beneficiaries Namibia-Ambena, has been making money, though without the beneficiaries benefiting from it.